My art blog just turned 2 years old. And I thought it would be fun to sit down and look back at all the things I learned from art blogging that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Let me tell you that when I first started blogging about art and creativity, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I wanted to do with the blog was share my insights and document my art career changes because I thought it would be interesting for others to read about them.
1. I learned to share my feelings in writing
If you know me, you know that I have journaled, and I still journal pretty often, which was my introduction to writing my feelings out. However, through blogging, I learned how to share and embrace my feelings. My journal is so personal that I wouldn’t appreciate strangers (even my closest people aren’t allowed to read it either ngl) reading it at all. But my blog is the journal I am fine with people reading. So with this combo, I can see where I am drawing the line to myself, and I can see the things that I am uncomfortable sharing or being overprotective of.
2. My art blog reminds me that things take time
Everything requires time and patience. There’s no way around this! And having an art blog (the art niche is not the easiest or most rewarding to blog in), having this art blog forces me to be patient and take things slowly. I have to log in, never stop brainstorming ideas to write about, write whenever I get the chance to, and work on different things simultaneously. When I see the progress I have made with this art blog, I am always reminded that nothing happens overnight and that I can only monitor my growth over longer time spans.
3. Having an art blog made me realize that I do not know a lot of things
I may know a thing or two about a topic or two, but I will never know as much as I strive to, because there is just so much to learn in this world. Building an art blog where I share my experience as an artist and the tips and lessons I learned in my self-teaching practice doesn’t mean that I know much about all the aspects of blogging. I don’t know enough about the ups and downs of blogging itself; I don’t know enough about coding and other backend stuff, and I have to pick one of these two options: FOMO (the fear of missing out) or ROMO (the relief of missing out). I learned to opt for ROMO thanks to my art blog.
4. Everything is inspiration
With my blog on the side, if something I like (an idea you came across, a thought you read in a book, an opinion of someone on an interview, scenery from a road trip, etc.) doesn’t serve as a painting idea, it could be repurposed for a blog post. And if not for a blog post, maybe for a social media post, or an outfit choice, or whatever. How you choose to put the inspiration you get into work is totally up to you, but keep in mind that everything is indeed inspiration. And whatever data you are putting in in your present moment will contribute to making you who you will be in the future. Choose wisely!
5. Tapping into the emotional and mental side of art-making matters as much as creating art does
I have a crazy schedule. I am not able to create as much art as I used to when I was less busy. This, however, doesn’t stop me from analyzing my relationship to my art or what I want to do with it in the future. I am not just the artist who creates; I am also the human experiencing and living a normal life in a normal body, and being in disassociation for years didn’t help my mental health as much, to be honest. So taking the time to take a distance from my art, to stop and think about my life as a whole, is a very challenging and life-changing experience I am currently living, and I owe it to my art blog and to the many topics I was able to open up about.
Conclusion
Creating and having my own art blog is one of the best things I have had to experience in my twenties. It was truly an experience that changed me and the way I view the world around me. What was something that you learned from art blogging? Share it with me in the comments section and enjoy creating <3
